Live tracking 2015 freeaero

INSTRUMENTS

LIVE TRACKING FUN AND SAFE If pilots are becoming more and more interested in tracking, it is, amongst other things, thanks to the fun aspect discovered during races such as the X-Alps, but also because it can save lives. Here are the most common ways of being ‘tracked’.

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Long or small, the flight will appear live on the internet site. It is also possible to look at the track later on in the site’s archives.

LIVETRACK 24 THE PIONEER OF TRACKING

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ivetrack 24 is one of the oldest tracking services. Its inventor Manolis Andreadakis started it as long ago as 2006! The system is open to all pilots (or even pedestrians/cyclists/walkers etc). All you need to do is open a free account and own a smartphone or one of the many compatible applications, to see your position appear live on the Livetrack 24 internet server. Obviously you need to have a GSM network or satellite coverage.

Livetrack 24 offers a link from the following servers: SPOT, YBTracking, DSX and will also soon do the same for Delorme; see further on in this article. Livetrack 24 has about 25Â 000 accounts and in summer there can be more than 300 people being tracked at the same time.

The service is also used by competitions s u c h a s t h e Wo r l d Cu p , n at i o n a l championships and hike and fly events like X-Pyr or Bornes to Fly. Now, certain organisations directly use the positions collected live to validate tasks and it is no longer necessary to download the contents of their GPSs after the pilots land.

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INSTRUMENTS

To be tracked by Livetrack 24, lots of leisure pilots simply use their smartphone with a compatible application, primarily the native high performance Livetrack 24 application for iOS or Android, but also navigation applications like Skylogger, ThermGeek and others which integrate a link to Livetrack 24. (To see a list: http:// www.Livetrack 24.com/apps/index).

Some instruments also use Livetrack 24, recent Compass instruments for example.

The Flymaster Live can also transmit positions to Livetrack 24, but this passes through the intermediary of the Flymaster server.

If you declare your flights on the XContest server, you can ask Livetrack 24 to transmit your tracklog, after the end of your flight, directly onto XContest. There can be a problem: if some positions haven’t been transmitted live, due to a lack of GSM connection for example, the ‘holes’ can be too big to allow the flight to be validated.

In this case, the flight has to be resent by means of a normal download.

In the beginning, Livetrack 24 was first and foremost a safety system, enabling friends and relatives to know at all times where to find a given pilot. Now, the fun side has also become important; it’s a bit like a flying version of Facebook.

Above: The Livetrack 24 site explains all you need to know very clearly and in English.

Right: For two years Livetrack 24 has offered a group tracking function: in the air you can see on your Livetrack 24 application where the other pilots in your group are.

Using a smartphone is a cheap way of being tracked. You just need to remember an external battery for your smartphone if your flights are going to be longer than a few hours. The basic tracking is free on Livetrack 24; extra options like tracking between friends requires a subscription but the price is reasonable (between 0.83 € and 2 € a month). http://www.Livetrack 24.com/docs/ packages

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LIVETRACK 24 LOGGER

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ivetrack 24 offers their own tracking device. One advantage is that it’s their battery which runs down and not that of your smartphone. It weighs about 70g, and has a battery life of five hours.

It is quite easy to operate; you put a SIM card in, charge it, set up the account for the tracker and the latter connects itself.

The transfer of data uses about 30 kB per hour, which is very little and remains a good deal across almost all the mobile tariffs, including the prepaid formulas. Conversely, be careful about roaming when you are abroad.

As this device was specially designed for tracking, the manufacturer used a GPS chip with high performance even in difficult conditions. The disadvantages are its battery life being limited to five hours and its price of 180 €.

It’s fairly expensive. Especially if you compare it with the price of fully fledged instruments containing a link to the Livetrack 24 server; see further on in this article. http://www.Livetrack 24.com/store/ index#trackers

Ohne Kompromisse without compromise

www.skytraxx.eu

info@skytraxx.eu

LIVE TRACKING BY SYRIDE ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF ON-LINE FLIGHTS

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yride was one of the first manufacturers to offer an online server for all the owners of one of their instruments.

After flying, on downloading the track log onto a computer, it is automatically transferred to the server. It was therefore logical that Syride would also be interested in live tracking, but the instruments don’t have a GSM/ GPRS modem. Syride therefore offer an Android application which takes over and transmits the live position of the pilots. https://www.syride.com/en/live

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INSTRUMENTS

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lymaster is one of the pioneers of live tracking. The instrument manufacturer was one of the first to offer an instrument specifically for tracking, the F1 Live. It was also one of the first to integrate a slot for a SIM card in an instrument, the Flymaster Live. Moreover, for a long time now, Flymaster instruments have been used to track the competitors in the X-Alps. You can even see the heart beat of each competitor thanks to the Flymaster heart rate monitor belt. They offer their own tracking service (https://lt.flymaster. net/bs.php). It is open to every owner of a Flymaster Live, Flymaster GPS SD+ or F1 Live equipped with some type of SIM card. It is also possible to transmit the positions onto Livetrack 24 through the Flymaster server.

THE FLYMASTER SIM A great idea from Flymaster was to offer, from March 2016 onwards, its own SIM card. In collaboration with Vodafone, Flymaster offer universal access to their database: this SIM allows an instrument to be connected to the network of several operators in many countries. The vario can thus automatically choose between Orange, Bouygues and SFR in France, depending on the reception. And when you go over the border into Spain, it switches to Movistar, Orange Espagne or Vodafone.

But above all, the card only costs 2.99 € per month, which includes communication in all of these countries.

The initial purchase of the card costs 8 €, p&p included. A great idea and not very difficult, allowing you to be tracked without worrying about the telephone tariff.

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FLYMASTER

LIVE-TRACKING

TRACKING CHEAPLY...EVERYWHERE

The end of the tariff problems on foreign telephone networks: The Flymaster SIM card is valid in many countries. On the other hand, it only works in a Flymaster instrument.

New: their entry level GPS SD + also has a slot for a SIM.

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INSTRUMENTS

COMPASS TRACKING

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ompass Compass have really taken on board the growing importance of tracking. All the recent Compass instruments, including the entry level Easy Pilot, are equipped with a SIM card slot.

As with all instruments of this type, it is necessary to initially remove the SIM card’s PIN code, for example using the ‘security’ menus on a normal mobile phone.

Next you need to find out the APN (acces point name) field in the Easy Pilot menu, and depending on the operator, enter its pseudonym and Livetrack 24 password. At the moment, all the tracking at Compass is done via an external service provider, whose reliability is well known.

Soon, it will also be possible to send, via Livetrack 24, the whole flight to the XContest server.

Even more impressive, it will soon be possible to see, on the instrument’s screen, the position of other pilots who are part of the same group. Shortly, it will also be possible to connect onto the server of the service provider, AirTribune.

Compass recommend and market the SIM card, Onesimcard. In contrast to the Flymaster card, it isn’t exclusive to Compass. It costs 30 €, then about 1 € per month, but it isn’t an unlimited tariff like the Flymaster one.

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INSTRUMENTS

PPGPS

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PGPS PPGPS is an Android and iOs navigation application.

Initially it was aimed at paramotor pilots, but more and more free flying pilots use it, even though they don’t need functions like ‘fuel left in the tank’. The application calculates the direction and the speed of the wind and offers help for getting back to base by displaying the estimated time it will take and the direction.

TRACKING

It displays maps from Google Maps and allows you to include other maps, including air space ones (but they still don’t generate warnings). You can also use it with an Android Wear watch (see further on in this article).

But PPGPS also offers its own live tracking server with a particularly active community. www.ppgps.info

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INSTRUMENTS

Photo: Jérome Maupoint/GIN

SMARTPHONE-TRACKING

The various navigation applications for iOS and Android make it easy to track any pilot who has activated the tracking mode before flying. But what are the chances of finding him if he has forgotten to activate this function?

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INSTRUMENTS

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here are two methods of mutual localisation more or less integrated into Android and iOS (Apple’s operating system).

The pilot can easily allow himself to be ‘tracked’ by his family or friends, even without having activated a tracking application. All he needs to do is to activate the functions and to clearly give his authorisation.

To be able to find a pilot with an iPhone, you have to first of all invite him to become a friend; he then has to give authorisation to share his position. Both parties have to have an Apple iCloud account (which is free and in any case necessary if you have an iPhone). The person looking for the pilot can do it with the ‘Find My Friends’ application on an iPhone or an iPad, or otherwise, new since autumn 2015, in any web explorer by opening the page: www.icloud.com. This means of finding the other person’s actual position works very well, it turned out to be very precise during all our tests.

In the Android world, the two people (pilot and friend) must have a Google Plus account and the pilot who is being looked for must install the Google Plus application on his telephone and explicitly allow his position to be shared with the other person. The easiest way is to create a ‘find friends’ group and all join it. Then you can see the position of the other person on the Google Plus application, or otherwise, in a web explorer once you’ve connected to plus.google.com. It’s slightly hidden, you have to click on the person and then once again on their name on their Google Plus page, and then scroll down. That works pretty well too.

https://itunes.apple.com/ fr/app/find-my-friends/ id466122094?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.google. android.apps.plus

In both systems, the person being tracked can very easily disable the tracking, either temporarily or permanently.

An easier and more efficient way of getting the up to date position of the person being looked for is to have access to their iCloud/Google Plus account.

This lets you work with the instrument’s management system (Android) or ‘Find my iPhone’ (iOS). But this implies total trust by the person being tracked in the person given the right to look for him.

Apple Find my iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/localiser-mon-iphone/ id376101648?mt=8

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GOOGLE instrument management https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.google.android.apps.adm

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Come in pilot, where are you? After taking off, you can go far, in all senses of the term.

Photos and montage: Albasark http://albarsark.com/wordpress/ Pilot: Neil Hodgkinson /Location: Bir

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Photo: Iridium

SATELLITE TRACKING Whether for a little flight in the Vercors or for a big cross country in the Himalayas, for pilots flying on their own, satellite tracking systems remain unbeatable.

Photo: Niviuk

They are financially very accessible, and new services make them even easier to use.

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Photos: Sascha Burkhardt

INSTRUMENTS

Two main systems are normally used: either the Delorme system (on the left) or the SPOT system (on the right). Delorme communicates via Iridium and SPOT via Globalstar. The biggest difference in how they work is that Delorme allows two way communication, including by text message, whereas SPOT only works in the direction pilot to civilisation.

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ince we published our tests on the first SPOT satellite trackers in 2008, they have become much more common amongst paraglider pilots. Everyone quickly recognised the importance of a rapid means of finding a missing lone paraglider pilot. And not just in desolate sites on the other side of the world, but also during our Alpine and Pyrenean flights. One can even go as far as to say ‘especially’ during these ‘local’ flights.

During the majority of our flights we often fly above big forests or inaccessible

ravines. Even as recently as Easter Saturday 2016 a 28 year old American speedflyer disappeared whilst flying in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. The search was in vain, even though a team from a company which makes drones helped by dividing the sector into a grid and searched using a whole squadron of quadricopters equipped with cameras. (www.facebook. com/HarrisonFastRescue).

For obvious security reasons, we therefore strongly advise using a satellite tracking system; it’s the only way to find somebody

in an area which isn’t covered by a GSM network. The bare minimum, a SPOT tracker, only costs 170 € and its annual subscription is 140 €, therefore about 12 € a month. Our favourite is the Delorme tracker system which costs a bit more (upwards of 310 € for the inReach SE and a monthly cost of 15-25 €), but it is a real two way satellite communication system.

On the following pages, there is a little reminder about these systems as well as what’s new...

SPOT GEN3

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he SPOT tracker has slimmed down since its first version: it weighs no more than about 114 g and works with four AAA batteries. It can also work with a USB supply. This also allows the instrument to configured in certain ways, such as changing the tracking frequency.

This was fixed (10 minutes) on the first SPOTS; now, it can be changed to 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes or even 2.5 in Extreme Tracking mode, but this is a service you have to pay a supplement for (an extra 100 € per year). Besides tracking, the SPOT tracker also has an ‘OK’ button which sends a message that everything is OK (by email or SMS) to recipients defined in advance. The ‘Help’ button triggers a predefined message of the type ‘I need help, but it isn’t an emergency,’ whilst the SOS button triggers an emergency call to the GEOS rescue centres. A new button ‘Individual Message’ can trigger another

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predefined non urgent message.

The system works well and has already saved many lives, but there is a big drawback: it only works in one direction, the pilot can’t receive messages telling him, for example, that the emergency services are on their way. Neither can he write a text message, the communication remains limited to the points on the track log and to messages predetermined in advance.

Battery life information given by the manufacturer: • 10 days in tracking mode with 1 point every 10 minutes • 6 days in tracking mode with 1 point every 5 minutes Price of the tracker 170 €, Yearly subscription 140 € (12 € per month)

The Globalstar telephone system only covers part of the globe… …but in ‘data’ mode and in one direction, i.e. from the user to the Internet or a rescue team, the worldwide coverage is a lot better. This is the basis of the SPOT system.

http://www.balise-spot.fr/la_balise.html

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INSTRUMENTS

The positions are displayed on a map. It is also possible to automatically post all the ‘OK’ messages with their position on a news thread on Facebook or Twitter. The French service provider offers extra services like tracking in competitions. For example: http://soaring.fr/pyrenees-air-tour-2016--marche-et-vol-5239

The ‘Help’ and ‘SOS’ buttons are hidden and protected by a cover.

ADVANTAGES:

DISADVANTAGES:

• The least expensive system • Simple.

• Very light • New: configuration by USB • Extra battery life thanks to a vibration detector which puts the instrument on stand-by when stationary.

• Sends only predetermined messages • Can’t receive messages, no confirmation that out-going messages have been read.

• Lack of global coverage.

• Altitude not transmitted.

Photos: Véronique Burkhardt / voler.info

We tested the first SPOT in 2008, after which lots of pilots started to use them.

Left, the SPOT 1 in 2008, in the middle the SPOT 2, and on the right the current SPOT 3 tested in 2016.

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DELORME

INREACH SE

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h e D e l o r m e i n Re a c h S E tracker which we have already reviewed in our magazine is an instrument which has been widely tried and tested. It is on sale for 320 €, it fits perfectly into a cockpit and weighs about 190 grammes.

There is a subscription which starts at 15 €, but the most useful one (the Recreational Plan) for regular use (each lone flight) with unlimited tracking every 10 minutes, costs about 22 €, depending on the dollar exchange rate.

The systems based on the Iridum network (Delorme and YBTRacking) cover the whole globe because the satellites even pass over the poles.

Below: the actual tariffs when you subscribe directly with Delorme. The company Delorme was recently bought by GARMIN. It is not yet known what the consequences will be for future tariffs.

The tracking and the messages are transmitted via the Iridium satellite network, which works everywhere in the world. But above all, it works in both directions: the pilot can receive actual texts by SMS and by email. He can also send the web link of his current track log to any email address or mobile number in the world so that other people can follow him, even if this wasn’t thought of in advance.

Linked to a smartphone (iOS or Android), the Delorme allows messages to be written and read very easily.

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INSTRUMENTS

ADVANTAGES: • Works everywhere in the world • Two way communication with acknowledgment of receipt by the system • It can send and receive SMSs and send emails • Write messages on the instrument or on a smartphone • All the settings can be adjusted in the field • Fairly light DISADVANTAGES: • More expensive than a SPOT tracker

The setup as well as reading and writing text messages can be done directly on the instrument, or otherwise, a lot more comfortably, via a smartphone using a Bluetooth connection.

The tracker is supplied by a rechargeable battery. The battery life is about a hundred hours when continuously tracking (1 position per 10 minutes).

InReach hike and fly type tracking: reliable and precise.

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DELORME

INREACH EXPLORER

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here is an even more elaborate version of the Delorme inReach SE: The Explorer comes with some interesting extra functions.

In addition to the GPS, which is of course present in all the trackers, it also has, amongst other things, a barometric altimeter as well as an electronic compass and navigational functions. It can therefore be used like a normal GPS for navigating to a waypoint or following a route.

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They can also be accomplished by a modern smartphone, so you don’t really need one, but it is a lot more practical to have an ‘all in one’, particularly in a group of pilots. With a price of 412 €, the difference compared to the SE version, is nearly 100 € - the choice is yours.

www.trekking-parapentes.fr

Range 2016

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The main attraction: when the instrument receives a message with the coordinates of another pilot, for example, you can ask the Explorer to guide you to this point. A map shows all such way points; it rotates to match the orientation of the instrument. The instrument can also record a track log in GPX format and import files containing waypoints. These are therefore typical functions of a hand held GARMIN GPS.

INSTRUMENTS

ADVANTAGES: • Integrated navigational functions.

• Works all over the world.

• Tw o w a y c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h acknowledgement of receipt by the system.

• It can send and receive SMSs and send emails.

• Write messages on the instrument or on a smartphone.

• All the settings can be adjusted in the field.

• Fairly light.

Photo: Sascha Burkhardt

DISADVANTAGES: • More expensive than a SPOT tracker.

• More expensive than an inReach SE.

The inReach Explorer offers all the functions on the inReach SE with, in addition, a ‘Goto’ navigational aid with a graphic display of the track log and messages on the screen.

Whether for the inReach SE or for the inReach Explorer, the Android applications for the iPhone make reading and writing messages easier. It also lets you visualise the actual track log on a map, on condition that this has been downloaded in advance for the region concerned.

For Delorme subscribers, people who want to contact the pilot must enter their first message via the Delorme site.

The pilot needs to send an SMS first; only then is it possible to reply to him. From then on, that number can be used to continue communicating with him, as with a normal SMS chat, and will last for about three months. Afterwards, the reply number is recycled and you need to have another initial contact via the web site.

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INSTRUMENTS

The two Delorme instruments (0) and (1) are in the blue rest zone designated in advance. As soon as they leave it, functions like ‘alert if no movement’ are activated. There is also an alarm if any of the instruments leaves the red perimeter.

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he German company Global SafeTrack Systems specialises in marketing satellite trackers.

They also market Delorme inReach instruments and sell them to individuals. Their great strength is in having established specific contracts with Delorme and having built a whole tracking system around this offer. Pilots who take out a subscription with them can define a group of Delorme instruments which will all receive certain messages at

the same time. It is possible for example to define ‘Geofence’ zones: if one of the participants leaves the perimeter, all the others are alerted and can navigate towards him.

Conversely, it is also possible to define collective alarms if one of the instruments stops moving, very useful if a solo pilot crashes. http://www.gpsafety.de/english/

YB-TRACKING YB3

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wo years ago we tested the Ye l l o w B r i c k Tr a c ke r. It s successor called the YB3, is almost identical. ‘Yellow Brick’ is perhaps too brick like, and indeed it is heavier than the Delorme. It works using the same Iridium satellite system, thus giving worldwide coverage.

Its principal is the same, but from the outset it offers more possibilities than a Delorme, especially if the YB3 is controlled by a smartphone via Bluetooth.

The application is very well produced, and it allows lots of adjustments, such as an alert when a certain ambient temperature is exceeded.

The instrument also offers an automatic alert function in the case of a prolonged lack of movement (in the case of a crash for example), an integrated service which on other instruments, such as the Delorme, must be adjusted through the server.

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Precise tracking. Theoretically, you can adjust it to the resolution of one tracking point every 5 seconds, but that would be very costly.

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INSTRUMENTS

It’s certainly an interesting tracker which with an impressive battery life (3 weeks of uninterrupted tracking at a rate of 1 point every 15 minutes), but it is more expensive as well as heavier and bulkier.

It costs upwards of about 600 €, monthly cost 11.50 €, with an extra cost of about 0.15 € for each tracking point. But you can hire it on a temporary basis. www.ybtracking.com ADVANTAGES: • Works all over the world • Two way communication with acknowledgement of receipt by the system • Sends and receives SMSs, sends and receives emails • Lots of adjustments possible • Integrated geofencing DISADVANTAGES: • Fairly expensive • Heavier and bulkier This instrument works on its own but it is optimised to be used in conjunction with the excellent application for smartphones. Its Bluetooth connection is now ‘Low Energy’, so it is more economical on energy.

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An Ozone LM5 in India (photo: Olivier Laugero). In this type of area a satellite tracker is even more essential.

Yes I am.

D-S-X SAFLY We tested the DSX-Safly in 2011. The instrument tracked just as well by satellite as

by GSM, depending on the availability of the network.

It’s a very good idea. It is also compatible with LiveTrack 24.

At the same time it is an IGC recorder.

For the last few years the company has become oriented more towards the professional market and their tracker no longer seems to be available. http://www.d-s-x.it/

new! even lighter!

Wani light, 2.6 kg (L) www.woodyvalley.eu

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